Active carbon is used, especially in granular form, for a great variety of purposes, such as for example in installations for the recovery of solvent vapors, in filter systems for decolorizing liquids, in deodorizing filters in exhaust hoods, in medical applications, in gas mask filters, and in ABC protective suits.
Woven and nonwoven fabrics of active carbon have recently been marketed for use in filters. In fiber form, active carbon is especially effective on account of the favorable ratio of surface to volume, which improves the accessibility of the pores. These woven and nonwoven active carbon fabrics are produced by carbonizing fabrics of materials containing carbon and then activating them with steam, but they are never produced by the fabrication of individual carbon fibers. The advantage of the high adsorptive power of such filter materials is counterbalanced by the disadvantage of their very limited mechanical strength. Consequently, they are suitable under certain circumstances for fixed installations, but not, for example, for protective suiting against chemical warfare agents.
It is the object of the invention to combine the advantages of active carbon fibers with the mechanical strength of a fabric of noncarbonized fibers.